26/11 attack on Mumbai has left its mark on the city – not only with armoured vehicles patrolling tourist hot spots – but also on the psyche of India's "city of dreams"

Mumbai, India's City of Dreams, has always walked a fine line between hope and despair. Time and again, the home of Bollywood has overcome tragedy, with recent deadly bomb blasts, flooding and riots giving rise to the adage "The Sprit of Mumbai".

This spirit – the resilience and very soul of India's commercial and entertainment capital – was tested like never before five years ago on Tuesday, when just 10 Pakistani terrorists turned the world's fourth largest city into a war zone, holding major landmarks such as the Taj Mahal Hotel under siege for three long days and nights and turning global counter-terrorism policy on its head.

The 166 individuals killed and hundreds injured will be marked in Mumbai on Tuesday and throughout the week at public and private memorial services – with heightened security across the city.

The physical damage of the attack, that began on the night of November 26, 2008, has long since been swept away. The bullet holes are plastered over – apart from where they have been kept as a tourist gimmick – and the five star hotels were quick to replace the shattered glass and throw open their doors again.

Armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and hand grenades, Ajmal Amir Kasab walks through Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station on November 26 2008

However, the attacks have left a lasting impact on the face of Mumbai.

Futuristic armoured vehicles mounted with machine guns now patrol the wealthy downtown heart of the city, with the iconic Gateway of India transformed from a bustling tourist hive to a controlled fortress.

Hotel security, with airport-like scanners, car bomb checks for every vehicle and armed guards, now resembles Islamabad or Kabul.

There are heavily-armed "Force One" units stationed across the city, ready to respond quickly to any attack or threat.

An Indian soldier takes cover outside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel (AP)

During the 26/11 attacks, several police officers tried to combat the AK47-wielding terrorists with their misfiring, wooden-framed, bolt-action Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifles – some of which were issued when Queen Victoria was still Empress of India and had not been fired for decades. Others simply fled.

Police chiefs have since tried to rid the force of the caricature of overweight, lazy, corrupt policemen, dozing on their cane lathis (sticks).

The force – humiliated and castigated for their total inability to handle five separate teams of just two men – has finally been equipped with 21st century weapons and officers receive better pay and training.

As part of the police reform plan, Dhanushyakodi Sivanandan, the Mumbai police commissioner in the aftermath of the attacks, even announced that a training programme was under way for the wives of officers, to teach them how to cook "a proper diet for their husbands", to keep the force "fit and healthy". There are now organised police yoga sessions to "relieve stress" and regular medical check-ups.

Rakesh Maria, the chief investigator of the 26/11 case (GETTY IMAGES)

Rakesh Maria, the head of the Anti Terrorist Squad for Maharashtra state who was in charge of police operations on the night of 26/11, recently told The Telegraph the force is now far better prepared to face any future attack, with a "new mindset to improve mental toughness".

"We have a dedicated group of units, who are trained for such situations … Now the response is much faster and more terrorist-oriented. The equipment has come in. The government did not spare any cost with the new top of the line equipment," he said.

Maharashtra's home minister, R.R. Patil, insisted this week that Mumbai was safe from any future such attacks. "The state and central government have jointly and individually initiated many measures to prevent and ward off such terror threats in the future, both from within and from the Arabian Sea route," he said.

ATS Chief Maria points out that "everyone has learnt a lesson at our expense," with the experience of 26/11 leading to a transformation in global counter-terrorism strategies.

There have been several recent reports of "Mumbai-style" cells operating in Europe and threatening the London Olympics. Last month, four men were arrested in London for plotting a "Mumbai-style" attack on the city. The New York City Police viewed 26/11 as "a major shift in traditional terrorist tactics".

With several parallels to 26/11, Islamist terrorists from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group took an upmarket shopping mall in Nairobi under siege for three days in September, leaving 61 civilians dead.

Indian commandos are dropped from helicopters onto the roof of the Jewish center in Mumbai

This new type of terror tactic generally targets densely populated urban areas, often landmark sites such as hotels, where a siege situation can be established to create maximum media coverage – and casualties. Rather than a complicated bomb attack, a small group of men armed with machine guns are sent in by "handlers" in a third country with a battlefield mentality, targeting civilians. It is a tactic that is very difficult to defend against.

Police and security services across the world have reacted to the threat, as shown by the fact that plots are frequently being foiled.

However, in Mumbai, five years after the city's darkest hour, the psychological scars of 26/11 have not healed. There remains a feeling of insecurity, fear and an overriding sense that the city is vulnerable.

The "Spirit of Mumbai" still exists, but the old bravado has gone – replaced by extra precautions taken and a day-to-day acceptance that the next attack is around the corner. The police, armed forces and government are unable to guard against it and the city was the victim of yet another terrorist attack in July 2011, when a string of bomb blasts left 26 people dead.

Suresh Khopade, a retired superintendent, states that people's continued lack of faith in the police has led them increasingly to trust god with their protection.

Kamal Singh, a witness of the attack on the Nariman House Jewish centre on 26/11, said his community was even considering arming themselves because, if an attack happens again, "we have to learn to face it without the police".

Bhisham Mansukhani, a survivor of the Taj attack said: "It will take another attack to evaluate the security measures. I know a lot of people who have left the country because they felt vulnerable and if given a chance even I would want to move to some other country where I can live safely."

One of the prime witnesses in the Kasab trial that gripped India, Devika Rotawan, who was shot in the leg during the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal Station attack on 26/11 said: "I am fearless, but I know our government is not capable of preventing further terror attacks."

Sunita Shah, who was at CST on 26/11, summed up how people have come to terms with the fact that they will never have security: "Mumbai is attacked so often that one just becomes numb to it. Not much seems to have changed after 26/11 – just a few tanks here and there. The people certainly don't feel safer. We are just waiting for the next tragedy."